mother as PCG

• Intro

  - the primary caregiver is the person who is most responsible for an infants health, development and wellbeing

  - theres currently a lack of understanding about child rearing, babies need more than just food and water

  - traditionally, mothers were PCG but as society is progressing, equality and opportunity should be equal for all and this role could hold women back from progressing
• Para 1 - feeding

  P - the mother is important to the childs survival (breast feeding)

  E - NHS recommends that infants are breastfed for atleast the first 6 months of life, every 2 hours

  F - this offers the best start to life and protects the child from infection + builds strong emotional bond which is important to development

  A - however, not all mothers breastfeed and some are unable to so some babies are bottle fed = anyone can feed the baby e.g. the father - behaviourists say bond between baby and father is classically conditioned

  S(see) - theres pressure on mothers to breastfeed (stigma in public), could impact mothers career/mental health
• Para 2 - influence of future relationships

  P - childs development can impact on future relationships

  E - Bailey et al investigated 99 mothers and their one year old - found that if the mum had a poor attachment to their parents, they had a poor attachment to their child (replicates behaviour)

  F - therefore, parental input is central to childs development (monotropic attachment) - forms a mental representation of what a relationship should look like

  A - however, Zimmerman found very little relationship between quality of infant attachment compared to attachment of teens (using same children) = contradicts Baileys findings
• Para 3 - grandparents as carers

  P - grandparents can act as caregivers

  E - 89% of grandparents across the UK feel close to their grandchildren

  F - children who regularly spend time with grandparents develop: good values, communication skills, right from wrong, feel more relaxed and are better at interacting with peers + grandparents benefit as they will become more sociable acting as PCG

  A - some grandparents dont want to be involved and some children dont have grandparents, may have a negative impact on child as they feel as if theyre missing out on an essential part of life e.g. lower quality of future relationships
• Para 4 - maternal deprivation

  P - prolonged seperation/maternal deprivation can lead to an affectionless character

  E - Bowlby - affectionless characters are more likely to become thiefs and have more difficulty forming relationships as they lack the ability to feel normal affection

  F - mother should act as PCG as they have a central role in healthy emotional development of the child

  A - Bowlbys use of 'maternal' didnt necessarily mean the mother so the father could also play a key role + some children Bowlby used in his research showed no ill effects from seperation

  S(see) - from 2015, 'shared parental leave' - this change in social policy reflects how parents in UK moving away from traditional view that mother should be PCG
• Conclusion

  - mothers are an important part in childs life but dont alwasy have to be PCG

  - support can be given from fathers/grandparents etc.

  - mother can work if necessary

  - mother as PCG is an out of date view + biggest mistake is that any care-giver has to be primary

  - e.g. fathers can provide an equally important ingredient in development - more playful/physically active